Advertisement

IS 'amir of suicide bombers' killed in coalition air strike

A senior leader of the so-called Islamic State group responsible for coordinating suicide bomb attacks has been killed in a coalition air strike, the US has said.

According to the country's Department of Defence, Tariq bin Tahar al-'Awni al-Harzi was killed in Shaddadi, Syria, on June 16.

Tariq bin Tahar al-'Awni al-Harzi Credit: US State Department

As of the end of 2013, al-Harzi had become known as Islamic State's "amir of suicide bombers", and a $3 million (£1.9m) reward was offered for information which brought him to justice.

Spokesman Captain Jeff Davis revealed 33-year-old al-Harzi had been a key player in moving people and equipment into Syria and Iraq - including suicide bombs and car-borne explosives.

[al-Harzi's] death will impact ISIL's ability to integrate foreign terrorist fighters into the Syrian and Iraqi fight as well as to move people and equipment across the border between Syria and Iraq.

– Captain Jeff Davis, US Department of Defence

His brother, Ali Awni al-Harzi, was also killed in Mosul, Iraq, the day before. He was believed to have been involved in an attack of a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012.

Read: US air strike 'kills militant linked to 2012 Benghazi attack'